Method of stapling bows to greeting cards



Sept. 11, 1951 E. H. MARSHALL METHOD OF STAPLING BOWS TO GREETING CARDS Filed June 9, 1948 Patented Sept. 11, 1951 'UNIIED ESTATES "OFFICE METHOD OF STAPLING BOWS T0 GREETING GARDS -a Elaine-H. Marshall, Wrentham,Mass.

'Application 'June 9, 1948, Serial No. 31;863

iEaster'cards and:so forth are decorated'in vari ous ways, one common decorative featurebeing a ribbon knot orbow. The better grades cream (and these are the ones-'most frequently"decorated-With ribbon) are usually 'of fine thinp'aper or at :least usesuch paper forithe frontmember or fold of the card." The paper is selected tor artis- 1 tie appearance rather th-an' stren'gthzand is easily torn; and some of these decorativezpapers have 1 a soft unglazed surface.

Since the cards must be ma'de to s'ell within a limited pricerange-'the various operations-ina 'volved: in producing them: must be -as inexpensive as possible commensurate with theartistic--ap- I pearance demanded." In the interests of low pro- 'duction costs it has been customary to attach the ribbon knot or ibow 'solely by the use of adhesive.

However, the adhesive must be confined-to a very r small area, that is to:say, to the knot itself since itheiloop andthe end portions of the ribbon must berlefti'loosefor aesthetic'reasons. Thus, even vf'though a. powerfuladhesive-be employed, the c'sm'all area ofa a'dhesion'is insufiicient to anchor the ribbon so securely to the card as to insure the retention of the ribbon when the card is-subjectedtozthe rough-rand careless handlin which. I it may :meet on the' display stand; for though the adhesive hold; the'soft surface-ofthe paper :may be. pulled 'awayythus freeing the knot.

To provideza'nnore" certain anchorage it has been proposedto form. holes-in the front member of the card and. tozthread' the ribbon through these holes andvthen to tie the ribbon-to form the desired knot.

When the ribbon istied-before application to the-card as when it is to be adhesively attached) it is possible toruseztheiribbon economically and without substantialf'waste; each: knot being-tied ---beforethe ribbon is severedfromthe-suppl and then cut ofi. Howevenwhen' the ribbon'is to be tied after being threaded'through the holes in they card it is almostimpossible 'to' gauge the "measuredlength of ribbon accurately; the tying of :the. knot when thezribbon is alrea'dy "threaded through thecard' being an awkward and troublesome operation. Thus in following thisl'atter methodthere is a great wasteof-ri-bbon. -Moreover, the threadingtof (the ribbon through the holes'in :the card :and the subsequent tying of Tithe} knot is aislow and expensive operation.

.;'I-he principal object ct -the present invention -'is to provide anovel method of attaching ribbon *knots "or-bows to greeting cardssothat the ribbon w111 be securely but inexpensively anchored in place, and to a novel cardresultant from the practice of this method. A A further object is to I provide a method-whereby theadvantages inherent inthe use of a'pretied knot are availed "of but W-hereby'the knot is' firmly and adequate- 1y united to the card. A further object is to providea method whereby a' pretied knot= may be adequately secured to the card without in any way-detracting from the appearance of or injuring theexiern'al finish of the ribbon and by "means-whichissubstantially invisible. -A further'object is to "provide a method of attaching 1 a preformed kn'otto a card in such a wa that even though" the materialof the card be soft and lackingin=strengththe knot will not easily tear 1 away. A'further object is to provide a card having a ribbon knot attached by card-penetratming zfastening means which engages that portion *lof the knot which contacts the card but which z-doesnotpenetrate the front or exposed bight of j the knot. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention Wlll-be-pointed out in the"following"more detailed description and by reference-to the accompanying drawings where- 'm "Fig? 1 is a'irontlelevationof a greeting card "of' a' conve'ntion'al typefiecorated with a ribbon knot: according-to' thel present invention;

I: Fig; 2 is aperspective view, partly broken away,

- showing:thecard opened to exhibit the interior;

"Fig. B is a'sectionon the line 3+3 of Fig. l,

the dimensions of the parts being exaggerated for purposes of-illustration;

: 'FigI 4 is: a' fra'g-mentary; diagrammatic bottom Yview of a'staple'clenching anvil of a type useful "in' thepractice 'of the method herein disclosed;

40 t v l Fig.- 3 but-showing the anvil operating in relation Fig? 5is a section generally similar to that of totheknot', that is, in the position which it occupies during theclenching of the staple;

Fig; 6 is airont-elevatiori illustrating a decorative knot or another type;

Fig? 7 is a' perspectiveview of' a staple of a type Which'isuseful inthe practice of the pres- *ent-invention,--*the thickness of the wire being exaggerated for illustration.

Referringto thedrawings, the numeral I designates' thegreeting card 'of the present" invention. This cardpas customary,-"consists of a piece. of thin cardboard, paper-or the' like and comprises thefro'nt member 2 and Etherear member 3. The

--e'xterior-face of thefrontm'ember 2 carries a suitable decoration, here indicated diagrammatically by the numeral 4. The sheet of material used in forming the card is usually first folded along a horizontal line as indicated at line (Fig. 2) and then along the vertical line 6. Thus the completed card comprises the aforesaid front and rear members 2 and 3 respectively, and the lining members 2 and 3 oftentimes an additional ply or plies of material are employed, but whenever the front member is herein referred to, it is intended to denote that element of the card which carries the decorative elements which are exposed at the front of the folded card. When, as illustrated in Fig. 2, lining elements such as .42 and 3a are used, the inner surfaces of the front and rear members of 2 and 3 are normally concealed by these lining elements.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided, in addition to the decorative feature 4, a second decorative feature I, consisting of a length of ribbon tied to form a knot. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the knot I is of the simplest type, comprising the aligned end portions 8 and 9 of the ribbon and a central bight II which extends transversely of the length of the ribbon. This transversely extending front bight or ply of the ribbon covers and conceals underlying portions i2 (Fig. 3) of the ribbon, forming the rear part of the knot.

In attaching this knot to the card, there is preferably employed a staple setting machine or appliance (of generally conventional type) comprising an anvil member I3 (Figs. 4 and 5) having a tapering end portion I5 which may easily be slipped between the front bight I I of the knot and the underlying or rear portions I2 of the knot as illustrated in Fig. 5. The under side of the anvil has oppositely directed, tapering guide grooves I6 designed to receive the ends of the staple legs and to guide them toward each other as they are bent. This anvil I3 is rigidly supported by an arm l4 and for convenience for operation is disposed substantially horizontally. Other conventional parts of the stapling mechanism are not shown.

The ribbon knot is slipped over this anvil I 3 so that the bight II overlies the anvil as shown in Fig. 5. The front member 2 of the card is then arranged beneath the anvil, the lining member 2 being temporarily bent away from the front member 2, and then a staple is passed through the part 2 and up through the underlying portion I2 of the knot, the legs of the staples engaging the underside of the anvil I3 and being guided by the grooves I6 in the anvil so that, as the staple is finally driven into place, the ends of the legs are clenched over and into the underlying portion I2 of the knot but without any possibility of entering the forward bight II of the knot. The staple is inserted by the usual staple driving means forming a part of the machine or appliance of which the anvil I3 constitutes an essential part. In thus inserting the staple the bight II of the knot is not subjected to any pressure so that no matter how delicate or finely finished its surface, the finish will not be marred by the operation of inserting the staple. A staple of a type suitable for the purpose is illustrated (to much enlarged scale) in Fig. 7. Preferably the head member I! of the staple should be of the order of inch long in order to provide a good anchorage for the knot even though the material of the part 2 be thin and easily torn. Preferably the wire used in making the staple is flattened so that a substantially flat surface is provided for engagement '4 with the member 2 of the card, thus further helping to avoid tearing out.

Instead of the simple knot I of Fig. 1, knots of more complex type may be employed. Thus, for example, as shown in Fig. 6, the knot I comprises a length of ribbon having end portions B and 9 and the loop portion In. This knot also has the transverse front bight I I as above described. Obviously a knot having a plurality of loops or bows may likewise be used.

By proceeding in the manner above described, the operator is able to dispose the knot at the exact desired position on the front face of the card, since during the stapling operation the front face of the card is fully exposed to view. The card may be located exactly as desired with reference to the knot which has first been mounted upon and is supported by the anvil. The procedure of threading the knot over the anvil and of driving the staple requires but very little time, so that the time factor involved in attaching the knot to the card as herein described is of approximately the same order as that necessary in applying a preformed knot by the use of adhesive, and is much less than that required for threading a ribbon through holes in the card and then tying a knot. On the other hand, the attachment of the knot by means of the staple affords substantially as good a retention of the ribbon as is obtained by threading the ribbon through holes in the card; the waste of material incident to threading the ribbon through the card and subsequently tying the knot is avoided, and danger of damage to the card such as sometimes occurs by smearing with adhesive, or by tearing in threading the ribbon through holes is eliminated. Other types of penetrating fastener may be substituted for the staple, within the purview of the invention, providing such fastener is capable of ready and cheap application without damage to the bight I I, and does not easily tear out of the card.

While a desirable mode of procedure and a specific product thereof has herein been described by way of example, it is to be understood that this invention includes any and all modifications which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

I. That method of decorating a greeting card by the attachment thereto of a pre-tied ribbon knot which comprises as steps providing a completed ribbon knot of the desired kind, said knot including a rear portion and an exposed front bight which extends transversely of the length of the ribbon, arranging the pre-tied knot at the front side of the card at the desired location with said rear portion of the knot in contact with the card, inserting a staple from the rear side of the card through the substance of the card and so that the legs of the staple penetrate said rear portion of the knot but do not enter said transverse bight, and clenching the legs of the staple without applying pressure to the exposed face of said transverse bight.

2. Phat method of decorating a greeting card by the attachment thereto of a pro-tied ribbon knot which comprises as steps providing a completed ribbon knot of the desired kind, said knot including a rear portion and an exposed front bight, the latter extending transversely of the length of the ribbon, arranging the knot at the exposed side of that portion of the card to which it is to be afiixed and with said rear portion of the knot in contact with the card, separating the front bight and rear portion of the knot, providing a staple having an elongate head and spaced legs, disposing the staple at the rear side of that portion of the card to which the ribbon is to be afiixed and with the ends of the legs of the staple directed toward the knot, projeoting the staple legs through the substance of the card and through said rear portion of the knot and turning the end portions of the legs toward each other so that they lie substantially parallel to the plane of the card and between the front bight and rear portion of the knot.

3. A greeting card having in combination therewith a length of ribbon, all of which is located at the front face of the card, the ribbon being arranged to form a knot having substantially aligned free end portions, the knot proper comprising a rear portion which contacts the card and an exposed front bight which extends transversely of the length of the free ends of the ribbon, and a thin wire staple having an elongate head of a length of the order of inch and. spaced legs, the head being at the rear side of the card, the length of the head being transverse to said exposed front bight, and the forward ends of the legs of the staple being clenched over said rear portion of the knot but failing to enter said big ht.

ELAINE I-I. MARSHALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

